Monday, November 26, 2012

One fall day, sometime around today, the Earth's rotation starts to slow. It's imperceptible at first, but "the Slowing" increases rapidly. Humans split into clock-timers, who follow the old 24-hour clock, out of tune with the sun; and real-timers, whose body's learn to sleep through the ever-lengthing nights and keep going through the expanding days. Birds drop out of the sky, the food supply is in peril, and all we once understood about the universe starts to unravel. At the heart of this is Julia, an 11-year old living in California, who struggles to understand the unstable world around her while dealing with the cliques, broken friendships, and incomprehensible longing of pre-adolescence.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Hello fellow Americans and all people who like to eat delicious things! Thanksgiving, that day when we gluttonously give thanks despite the encroachment of Black Friday, is nearly upon us, and that means that many of us are frantically grocery shopping and trying to figure out just how everything will fit into the oven so that it will all be hot and delicious at once. Or not. I think my family has always gone a bit overboard, creating a worthy-of-TV smorgasbord of semi-seasonal favorites. But not this year! Not at all. This year, due to last-minute travel changes due to various medical issues, our Thanksgiving plans got all flip-flopped and I found myself committed to two separate Thanksgiving parties, about a two-hour drive from each other. Oopsies. I did some fast-talking and turned my family gathering into a Thanksgiving brunch (which I've wanted to do for years anyway), and honestly, the menu seems a bit less crazy. We'll have quiche and brie and my mother's famous stuffed mushrooms and waffles and butternut squash soup/puree and pie and it will be wonderful. Even though I'm a day late, I just wanted to share some of the recipes I'm using with you so that your Thanksgiving can also be delicious. (Note to vegans: the pie and waffles contain eggs.)

Sunday, November 4, 2012

So, I'm very behind on posting my complaint review of The Fellowship of the Ring, but you've pretty much heard it already if you've read my complaint review of The Hobbit so let's just save that for another day and plow on, shall we?

I decided to read My Cousin Rachel entirely on a whim, and also because Natalie at Coffee and a Book Chick told me to. And, since I am now a proud Audible subscriber (seriously, oh uninitiated, it's great) I was able to just get it and have it and now it's mine. Ah, capitalism. Also, I've been meaning to read more du Maurier since I enjoyed Rebeccaa while back, so this was as good an excuse as any.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

It was only slightly rainy but oh-so-gusty, and we spent Monday evening watching the trees sway about until around 8:30, when the power went out. It was the first time we've lost power in this apartment - Irene didn't manage to make us do anything but reset our clocks last year. So we watched Amelie on the fully-charged laptop and went to bed early. And then we woke up on Tuesday and it was coooold, because the heat doesn't work without power, and I finally understood the attraction of the snuggie. And then that night we lost hot water. And by then it was already far longer than I've ever gone without electricity without it being on purpose (I once went on a 10-day canoe trip without electricity, but that was by choice). And that morning we went for a walk to see the damage and here are some things we saw.